The Alliance Defense Fund's much-ballyhooed "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" is coming up, and right now it looks like it's fixing to be a dud.

There have been several recent developments – none of them good for the ADF. For starters, the ADF appears to be running scared from allegations that its actions are ethically dubious. Three former Internal Revenue Service officials have sent a letter to the tax agency charging that the ADF's actions run afoul of professional standards for tax attorneys that are outlined in a document called "Circular 230." Read more

The Religious Right just can't seem to give it a rest this election season.

"The Free Exercise Thereof Project," a new front group of Religious Right leaders, has just sent out an email to evangelical pastors urging them to get involved in the election process. (See a letter similar to the e-mail here.) Read more

Members of the Brunswick County, N.C., School Board seem to be having problems telling the difference between science and theology.

All four members of the board are looking for a way to bring creationism into the classroom, reported the Wilmington Star-News. The issue arose after a parent, Joel Fanti, criticized the schools for teaching evolution. Read more

Today is Constitution Day, a day to remember that on Sept. 17, 1787, 39 men signed a document that promised Americans certain rights and freedoms.

One of those freedoms, of course, is the freedom of religion and the founders' promise to keep government separate from religion. When I was reading the news from other parts of the world today, I was reminded just how lucky we are.

In Dubai earlier this week, two people were heavily fined for drinking juice in public. It is illegal to publicly eat or drink in the daytime during the Muslim holiday of Ramadan. Read more

Yesterday my colleague Sandhya Bathija wrote about attending her first "Values Voter Summit." I was there, too, but I've been at this for a long time. Before there was a Summit, I used to attend national meetings of the Christian Coalition that were very similar. Read more

On Friday and Saturday, I endured my first "Values Voter Summit," an annual conference where right-wing fundamentalists get to be their poisonous, partisan and propaganda-propagating selves.

That's right, these "compassionate conservatives" or good "evangelical Christian" folk tried to fool themselves and the media into believing their policies are about more than just pure hate and an unconstitutional agenda. And they failed miserably. Read more

For the past few days, both presidential candidates have been up in arms about a "lipstick on the pig" comment made by Barack Obama.

People have been wondering: does Obama's comment mean he's sexist? Is he calling Palin a pig? Or is it just an expression that the McCain camp has blown out of proportion?

Here's my thought: No matter who the pig is and what color lipstick he or she may or may not be wearing, Americans have a big decision to make come November -- and wasting even one day worrying about pigs and lipstick isn't helping this country make that decision. Read more

I'm shocked, shocked, to find that partisan political activity is going on in the Falwell religious empire.

Today's Lynchburg News & Advancereports that Joe McCain, Republican presidential candidate John McCain's brother, will be leading a public rally at Liberty University tomorrow. The candidate's sibling will also be speaking at the university's morning convocation, the newspaper said. Read more